Growth of atomically smooth ultra-thin InSb layers on GaAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

We successfully grew an atomically smooth 14.6% lattice-mismatched InSb layer on GaAs substrates under the Frank-van der Merwe (F-vdM) mode from the beginning of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) by eliminating excess Sb adsorption. It is confirmed that the use of a (111)A substrate and an In template layer has an advantage in the enhancement of layer-by-layer InSb growth on a GaAs substrate. Characterization with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) clarified that we achieved a 1 nm height difference per 1 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ area, which is comparable to that of a homoepitaxially grown GaAs surface.